Windows
by Nightwind
Summary: Nightwind attempts to write Things What Are Short. So, I give you vignettes starring Prowl and Sunfall, my wacky OC. Will contain: Fluff! Romance! Angst! Drama! Humor! Bickering! Will eventually have various ratings, but family-friendly-ish for now.
1. The Good Stuff

**Obligatory Author's Note:** Well, since I sort of got these two sort of together in the last story involving them, I've decided that, henceforth, I'm just going to do vignettes with them, just little windows (Hence the title) into their lives as they pertain to each other. I was originally going to do a 28s thing, but then went, "Meh." Wanna do my own thing. These'll be written whenever they occur to me, which means whenever Sunfall decides that she's going to barge into my brain. She's been doing rather often, of late, but I have no idea if that trend will continue. Some will be funny, some will be angsty, some will be mushy and fluffy, and there will likely be everything in between. Hell, maybe I'll even write some pr0n if the mood strikes. ;) They won't be in chronological order because I'm going to just write stuff as it comes to me, sooooo…I guess I'll give you a date when each one takes place, along with any necessary warnings and such. So, off we go:

**Title:** The Good Stuff**  
Rating:** K+**  
Warnings:** (Legally) High-as-a-kite Sunfall. Smooshy Prowl. Nuttin' else. It should be noted that I initially wrote this while recovering from a concussion, so I was sympathizing with Sunfall, I guess. :)**  
Date:** January 2000. (Sunfall was "born" on March 25, 1999, so she's around 10 months old here. For those interested, though it doesn't really matter: It's two months after "Confessional.")

* * *

I awoke, curled on my side, feeling curiously floaty and not entirely present, as if my brain was only partially connected to my body. As my vision slowly cleared and sharpened, I realized that the indistinct black and white blob in front of me was actually Prowl sitting in a chair next to my berth. He was poking intently at a datapad, probably working. I shifted position slightly, my body slow to respond and heavy, and Prowl started at the negligible noise that my movement made, turning his head sharply to look over at me. Immediately setting the pad aside, he scooted his chair around so that he was directly facing me, and then, leaning forward, he regarded me attentively. His expression was unusually soft.

"Hey," he said quietly, his voice possibly more tender than I'd ever heard it. "How are you feeling?"

I thought about Prowl's question for a moment, trying to think of how best to describe my current condition and the odd, disconnected sensations that I was experiencing. It took longer than it should have. My thought processes were far from clear, felt deeply sluggish. It wasn't unpleasant, though. Mining Claire's memories to see if she'd ever experienced anything similar, I discovered that my condition was very much like being drunk on alcohol, only without the nausea and the stupidity.

Well, without the nausea, anyway.

"M'fuzzy," I finally and drowsily answered, deciding that that was as close to an accurate description as I was going to get in my current, deeply stupid state. "But happy!" I amended with a loopy, drunken smile.

Prowl smiled back. He chuckled, even. I'd made him laugh without even _trying_…

"That's because," he was informing me, "Ratchet gave you a nice hefty dose of the really _good_ stuff."

"Ratchet?" I questioned, blinking in confusion. It was only then that I realized that I was currently in the medbay. On a medical berth. In one of the small private, equipment-stuffed rooms reserved for more seriously-injured patients who required closer and more long-term monitoring. The monitoring equipment in the room with me was turned on, quietly sighing and beeping away. It was only then that I realized that the equipment was monitoring me. Which meant that…

"Oh," I said, feeling slightly more intelligent all of a sudden but also slightly, faintly alarmed, a feeling which likely would have been much stronger had the Good Stuff not been dulling and fuzzifying everything. Still, the alarm must have shown on my face.

"It's all right," Prowl immediately reassured me, his voice incredibly soft. He reached one hand forward to stroke my cheek soothingly. I closed my eyes, reveling in the sensation. "You took a bit of a hit and have a little hole in your back," he was explaining. "But you're going to be just fine in three or four days."

"Mmmm," I murmured, opening my eyes slowly again, only to discover that my vision was fuzzy again. Like the rest of me. "If Ratchet felt a need to give me the really good stuff," I said sleepily, "I'm betting that the hole isn't very little."

Prowl half-smiled at that.

"Welllllll…" he temporized, "I suppose I probably wouldn't bet against you on that."

I snorted tiredly at that and said, "Yet another stellar performance from Sunfall, then. Are you ready to disown me yet?"

"Hardly," Prowl huffed. "You actually had a fairly good day, up until the very end. It's just that…Well, Soundwave had a slightly better day."

"Mmmm," I grumble-murmured at that, as I felt drugged stupor inexorably tugging me back down into happy temporary oblivion. "I'll get him," I added, my voice slurring. "And his little cat, too."

Since I'd only recently introduced Prowl to the delightful hallucinogenic drug trip that was_ The Wizard of Oz_, just to see how badly it would fry his circuits, he caught the reference. His quiet, chuckling laughter was the last thing I heard as my world abruptly faded to black again. It was actually a very nice way to lose consciousness.


	2. Christmas Cheer

**Title:** Christmas Cheer**  
Rating:** K+ bordering on T-ish? Maybe?**  
Warnings for:** An insistent, wine-drinking, squishy sibling. A cutely tipsy Jazz. Possibly gratuitous amounts of _It's a Wonderful Life_. Mistletoe and its inevitable effects. Mentions of lap dancing (For the love of God, keep Sunfall away from the high grade!). Prowl Being Fuzzy™. Oh and also? This one isn't exactly short. *rolls eyes* I tried, I swear I did, but… *sigh***  
Date:** December 24, 1999. (Christmas in August! Yippee!)

* * *

The Chase family, Sunfall had learned from Claire, had many traditions. Like, for instance, there was the dreaded 40th birthday roast, when friends and family gathered and made good-natured though rather merciless fun of the "victim" during a celebratory dinner. Even though Chip was still nine years away from his roast, he was already dreading it, mostly because he knew that certain Autobots would show up, namely a certain engineer who had perfect recall, a gift for drama that sometimes bled into hyperbole, and all _sorts_ of embarrassing stories to relay.

Most of the Chase family's traditions, though, revolved around the major holidays. Christmas Eve was the biggest of them. The entire Chase clan – which was a large one; Claire's father was the second child in a brood of nine – gathered at Claire's grandparents' house for dinner, drinks, conversation, and games and small gifts and such for the younger generations.

This, of course, would be the first such Chase family Christmas celebration that would lack Claire. She'd been melancholy and more or less silent in Sunfall's head off and on since just prior to Thanksgiving, the first major family gathering she'd missed, but especially so all during the past week…and Sunfall had no idea what to do about it. Claire loved Christmas, she knew, but now…

It wasn't as if she could attend the family gathering, though a notion did run through Sunfall's mind to drive to Claire's grandparents' house this evening and then park herself outside to observe from afar. But then she'd ultimately decided that doing that would be more depressing than just staying in, ensconced in her quarters at Autobot Headquarters.

There were certain Autobots who'd adopted Christmas as a holiday. They didn't know or care, really, what the holiday was all about. For the Autobots, Christmas was mostly seen as an excuse to have a party, and in the middle of a war, _any_ excuse to party was a good one. So, there was usually a Christmas party every year at Autobot Headquarters, open to anyone who wasn't on duty, and it was quite popular and usually ended up being quite loud. Sunfall had thought about attending but had ultimately decided against that, too, thinking that perhaps it would only disturb and further sadden Claire. She'd been difficult enough to deal with these past six weeks or so, and Sunfall didn't want to give her any reason to slide even farther into a funk.

So, Sunfall had decided that staying in and "enjoying" some peace and quiet was her best option. Her only concession to the date on the calendar was that she queued up some classic Christmas music, letting the voices of the likes of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole wash soothingly over her. Occasionally, she hummed or sang along, all unconsciously.

She was just thinking about finding something to read when there was a soft knock at her door. Frowning, figuring that it was someone who'd come to cajole her into coming to the Autobot Christmas party, she pretended that she hadn't heard it. But then it sounded again, more insistently this time. And again. Sighing in frustration, knowing that if she didn't answer someone would eventually end up employing a security override to make sure that she was all right, Sunfall went to the door, put on an aggressively annoyed face, palmed the control to open the door and, as it slid quietly open, growled, "What?!"

There was no one there, or so it appeared, at least, until a small voice sounded from the vicinity of her knee.

"Um," the voice said uncertainly, "down here."

Sunfall looked down.

"Chip!" she exclaimed, instantly identifying her visitor. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at—"

Chip waved her off.

"I begged off," he explained nonchalantly. "I wasn't really in the mood to go, anyway. Between Claire and Uncle Charlie passing away this year…ugh. Gram will be in full-on drama queen mode, and you know how that is. That's not something I want to deal with right now."

Sunfall frowned down at him, almost in disapproval.

"You should be with family," she said. "It's Christmas."

Chip looked up at her, his expression mutinous as well as clearly saying, "Duh, Claire." She…Claire…had seen the look a million times before.

"If I'm with you, I _am_ with family," Chip announced determinedly, dark blue eyes flashing defiantly, daring Sunfall to argue.

"Chip, I'm n—"

"Don't _start_ with me, young lady!" Chip interrupted, waggling a scolding finger up at Sunfall. "I know you're not all Claire, but I also know that some of her is in there with you. And if I know her, she's making you completely miserable right about now, and you don't deserve that. And I'm _not_ gonna leave you and my bratty baby sister all alone on the first Christmas after…after…"

Sunfall could feel Claire smiling as Chip's voice trailed off. She let the smile show on her face.

"Thanks," she said quietly, genuinely touched.

"You're welcome," Chip responded, smiling warmly back at her. "Can I come in now?" he asked. Then he rummaged around in the open duffel bag laid across his lap, as if he needed to pay some sort of entrance fee. "I've got _It's a Wonderful Life_. _Miracle on 34__th__ Street._ _The Santa Clause._ Oh, and the original animated _Grinch Who Stole Christmas_. That should keep us occupied for a while. I've got a fabulous merlot, too. Not that _you'd_ be interested in that, but _I'm_ interested in it."

He pulled the bottle of wine in question out of his duffel, carefully uncorked it, and then wedged it securely between his thigh and the side of his chair to let it breathe for a while. Sunfall chuckled and stepped aside, allowing Claire's brother to propel his wheelchair into her quarters.

"I dunno," Sunfall answered speculatively as Chip wheeled in. "Might be interesting to see if wine has any effect…"

Chip paused, his brain instantly considering the notion since it was one he'd never contemplated before. He weighed the way that Cybertronian bodies processed imbibed chemicals against the average amount of ethanol in a liter of wine and then contemplated the simple chemical bonds that held together the ethanol molecule _and_ the amount of energy that each molecule released when processed. Seconds later, he came to the conclusion that it might be _possible_ for a Transformer to get some kind of a buzz from wine_,_ but… "Sunfall, you'd probably have to drink a _vat_ of the stuff. I only brought one little bottle."

"How inconsiderate," she sniffed, mock-offended, and then she snickered and headed off to a corner of her quarters that featured a small storage compartment. "Never fear, though, because I've got…" she added, as she rummaged around and emerged triumphantly with a glowing cube, "high grade!"

Chip gave her an alarmed, wide-eyed look.

"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked. "I mean, the last time you drank that stuff, you—"

"Gave Prowl a lap dance," Sunfall finished, cheerfully agreeable. "I know. I've been told many, _many_ times that I put on quite the show. I _almost_ wish that I could remember it…"

Chip snickered at that.

"Ah, but have you been told that Prowl wasn't exactly complaining about it?" he asked with a wide grin.

"He denies it vehemently," Sunfall responded evenly as she fiddled with the cube of high grade, measuring out a tiny portion of it into another container.

"Oh, he did not offer a _single_ complaint!" Chip insisted. "I was _there_! I _saw_! He was _enjoying_ it!"

"You were sloshed, too," Sunfall countered. "You're not an entirely reliable witness. _No one_ there was a reliable witness in that sense. So, the truth might never be known." She paused, considering, then added with a resigned sigh, "Unless Red Alert feels a need to blackmail me or Prowl one day, that is." Chip laughed as Sunfall continued, "In any case, I learned my lesson: a little dab of this stuff will do ya. Or at least it'll do _me_. Some guys can put this stuff away like there's no tomorrow…"

Chip snorted.

"Drug tolerance is a wonderful thing," he observed.

Sunfall grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Speaking of which," she said, gesturing at the vidscreen hanging on the wall, "put in _It's a Wonderful Life _first_._"

"Oh God!" Chip responded dramatically, rolling his eyes yet at the same time amiably aiming his chair for the DVD player, which was thankfully within his reach. "I knew you were gonna say that. Nice to know you're still an utter _sap_."

"It's Christmas," Sunfall said mock-defensively. "'Tis the season for sap."

And with that, she vaulted over and then settled cross-legged on her couch with her pinch of high grade, and Chip leaned back comfortably in his chair and took his first swig of merlot, straight from the bottle. Human and Autobot settled in companionably to watch the movie, which had always been one of Claire's favorites.

Clarence the guardian angel had just appeared in Bedford Falls when there was another insistent knock at Sunfall's door. Frowning, Sunfall paused the movie and went to see who'd be bugging her at ten at night on Christmas Eve.

When the door slid aside this time, it revealed three Autobots.

"If Sunfall will not come to the party," Wheeljack intoned gravely before Sunfall could say anything, "then the party will come to Sunfall."

"We brought Prowl!" Jazz cheerfully announced, his unnaturally bright visor indicative of a hefty amount of high grade coursing through his systems, before Sunfall could say anything. "I mean, a present!" Jazz corrected himself. "I mean, a present that isn't Prowl! I mean—"

"You mean you had better quit while you're ahead," Prowl deadpanned, reaching around Wheeljack to give Jazz a friendly smack to the back of the head to shut him up. He gave Sunfall an amused look. "But we do have a present that isn't me," he added, indicating a large box that he carried tucked under one arm. It was wrapped in shimmering gold foil and adorned with a red velvet bow. Prowl flashed Sunfall a small but completely sober smile that warmed Sunfall and that she found herself returning. Then she stepped aside and gestured for the three Autobots to come in.

"Hiya, Chip!" Wheeljack greeted, cheerfully surprised, as soon as he noticed the human's presence. The engineer hunkered down next to Chip's wheelchair to have a chat while Jazz sidled up to Sunfall and pressed something small and green into her hand. Sunfall looked down at the greenery in her hand, realized it was mistletoe, and gave Jazz a querying look.

"Put that to good use," Jazz not-quite-whispered at her and then aimed a significant glance at Prowl, who was at that moment gracefully and obliviously settling himself on her couch to greet Chip as well. Sunfall's gaze slid over to him and then returned to regard Jazz appraisingly.

"You're evil," Sunfall decided, fighting to hold back a chortle.

"Yeah, yeah," Jazz agreed off-handedly. "So everyone says. Just change out my sigil right now and—Oooh! _It's a Wonderful Life_!" he interrupted himself, instantly and distractedly flitting on to the next subject as he noticed the image that was frozen on Sunfall's vidscreen. "I _love_ this movie!" he enthusiastically announced.

Jazz snatched the remote out of Sunfall's hand and then scuttled away to settle himself on the floor in front of the vidscreen. He stopped the movie and then restarted it from the beginning. Sunfall just stared after him, amused, and then went to go join Prowl on the couch.

* * *

Later, once the movie was over, Sunfall appraisingly regarded the large box that was laid across her lap and then looked back up at Wheeljack.

"But I didn't get you anything," she protested. "I didn't get _anyone_ anything."

Wheeljack chuckled and exchanged a conspiratorial glance with Chip, at which Sunfall frowned suspiciously. When the two of them got up to something together, the results could be…unpredictable, to say the least.

"Just shut up and _open_ it, will ya?" Wheeljack insisted.

Sighing in defeat, Sunfall tore into the foil wrapping with the glee of a small child, only to reveal…a plain cardboard box. Which was sealed, practically hermetically, with duct tape. Wheeljack's work, obviously; he loved the stuff and the local Home Depot was quite happy to keep him well-supplied.

"Let me guess," Sunfall said with a grin. "When I _finally_ get this one open, there'll just be a slightly smaller box inside."

Jazz grinned up at her from his position on the floor at her feet, propped up on his elbows.

"Now would we be that cruel?" he asked, mock-innocently.

"You, Jazz?" Sunfall responded. "You'd be _twice_ as cruel as that."

While Jazz pouted exaggeratedly, Wheeljack chuckled.

"You'll just have to open it and find out," he said quietly to Sunfall, merriment dancing in his eyes.

So, Sunfall began to claw at the duct tape. A few minutes later, she'd managed to free the top flap of the box, lifting it warily and peeking inside.

"Oh my God!" she gasped reflexively, one hand flying up to cover her mouth in an entirely human gesture of shock as she gazed at the gleaming gift within. "Wha… How?" she intelligently asked, leveling a wide-eyed gaze on Wheeljack.

Wheeljack shrugged modestly.

"Prowl told me that you were missing playing and wondered if there might be anything we could do about that," he said. "So it's really his idea."

At that, Sunfall turned her head and gave Prowl a very long and very appreciative look.

"Obviously," Wheeljack was continuing meanwhile, watching the rather intense look that the two were sharing in near-paternal doting amusement, "a standard violin wouldn't be…uh, practical anymore, so I poked around a bit to see what I could come up with and…" His voice trailed off with another shrug. "Well, it was a nice break from building weapons of mass destruction," he concluded.

Sunfall tore her gaze away from Prowl's so that she could turn back to Wheeljack, smiling at him beatifically before she reverently lifted the shiny, black, scaled-up but very light violin from the protective materials that Wheeljack had carefully packed it in. She gave its shiny silver E string a tentative, experimental pluck.

Given the instrument's size, she'd expected the pitch that emerged from it to be several octaves lower than it should be, but somehow the plucked string resonated powerfully and very richly at E6, precisely the right E for the highest string on a violin. It was also tuned, so her perfect pitch told her, exactly to the cent. The echoing vibrations resonated strongly through the instrument, transferred themselves to the leg against which she'd braced it, and then thrummed through the rest of her body in a way that they could never have resonated through Claire's denser and organically human body. Sunfall closed her eyes in appreciation and shivered at the sensation. Then, curiously and blindly, she cycled down through the A-, D-, and G-strings, each also perfectly tuned and each setting off the same reaction, and then delicately back up again to the E. And then she opened her eyes and stared at Wheeljack with undisguised wonder.

"How?" she asked again.

"I'll tell ya all about it…later," Wheeljack answered, waving her off impatiently. "Just play something, will ya?"

"I don't have—" Sunfall began to protest.

Silently, his eyes bright, Prowl nudged her to get her attention and then handed Sunfall a matching bow, black stick and black hair. He'd apparently had it hidden on him somewhere. Her hand brushed lightly against his as Sunfall took the bow from Prowl and their gazes locked again for a significant moment.

"Play," Prowl agreed softly, giving her an encouraging nod and a small smile.

Sunfall drew in an uncertain breath.

"It's been so long…" she demurred. "And this is a lot big—"

"It's precisely scaled to match your…Claire's favorite violin," Chip put in, deflecting Sunfall's argument before she could fully voice it. "The one she used for quartets. I brought it over for 'Jack to scan. And you should have an analogue of Claire's muscle memory, only yours shouldn't have faded with time, so—"

"So no more excuses!" Jazz called out impatiently from his position on the floor, now sprawled with the back of his head pillowed on his interlaced hands. "_Play_ something, already!"

Giving in, Sunfall sighed an "all right" and then stood up, cradling the violin against her, her hand unconsciously gripping the bow properly. Stepping carefully over Jazz, Sunfall rummaged through Claire's memories for a moment, searching for a piece that would run the gamut of the violin's range, to give her new toy an accurate test drive. Settling on Mendelssohn's E-minor concerto, she raised the instrument, and let Claire take over. She ran flawlessly, more flawlessly than she'd ever played the same passages when she'd been human, through the difficult opening bravura of the first movement and then through the first minute or so of the cadenza. The note that she ended on was a very high harmonic, delicate and so high that it teased the upper limit of human hearing capacity. It rang on and on, resonating through the body of the instrument and then resounding through Sunfall's own body.

That, she reflected, was going to take some getting used to.

"Whoa," Jazz responded as the final note continued to ring, the vibrations flowing through him, as well. His voice was drowsy now, though, the high grade starting to catch up to him. Sunfall suspected she was going to have a floor guest for the night.

Reverently, Sunfall lowered the violin and then stared anew at Wheeljack, who'd been listening appreciatively.

"Wow," she said, momentarily speechless otherwise as she stared at the violin. "Wheeljack, this is…is…"

"Amazing," Prowl put in. Except that he was looking at Sunfall more than he was looking at the violin that she was holding. Sunfall noticed, and she flashed him a small, pleased smile.

* * *

"Looks like you have two guests for the night," Prowl commented at the end of the evening, which had featured Sunfall further testing out her new toy as well as a viewing of _The Grinch_, upon which Chip had insisted before he'd practically passed out in his chair, three-quarters of his bottle of wine gone. Now, Prowl was staring in amusement at Jazz sprawled on the floor and then at Chip slumped down in his chair, mouth agape and breathing heavily but steadily.

"Apparently so," Sunfall answered, gazing fondly at the two of them. She broke her gaze only when Prowl shifted his weight…nervously? She turned back to him questioningly.

"I…have something else for you," Prowl announced quickly, before Sunfall could say anything, as if he wanted to get it over with.

He was definitely nervous, Sunfall decided, which for him was a very rare condition; usually he was the most collected individual that she knew, unflappable in just about any situation. She watched him now in amusement that she couldn't quite hide as he popped open a small compartment in his forearm and withdrew a small envelope, which he then handed unceremoniously to her.

Frowning, Sunfall carefully opened the small envelope and fished out its contents: Two small rectangles of ivory cardstock. Squinting at the tiny, black and gold embossed printing on them, she realized that they were tickets for the symphony's gala New Years' Eve concert. The one that had been sold out since before Claire had died. The one that, this year, featured a few soloists that she had _really_ wanted to hear, including a good friend of Claire's, a pianist who had often served as her accompanist. _And_ they were playing Beethoven's 7th symphony, her favorite. Sunfall uttered a happy squeak and then looked up in wonder at Prowl.

"Prowl, this has been sold out forever… How did you…?"

Prowl shrugged casually as Sunfall's question trailed off, but he seemed very pleased at her reaction to his gift.

"Jazz has surprising connections," he answered. "And he can be very…persuasive."

"Apparently so," Sunfall repeated, staring down in wonder at the tickets again. Then she looked back up at Prowl, amusement dancing in her eyes. "So…Are you asking me on a date then, Prowl?" she added playfully.

"I suppose I am," Prowl answered, giving Sunfall a slightly apprehensive look that she found utterly adorable. She crooked a finger at him, indicating that she wanted him to bend down a bit. Once he'd obliged, she pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"It's a date," she whispered softly to him. "Thank you."

Prowl visibly relaxed as he murmured a reflexive, "You're welcome."

Sunfall suppressed an amused chuckle at his relief. They stared at each other intensely for a moment after that, once Prowl had straightened. He fidgeted, something that Sunfall never thought she'd see.

"Well," he said, trying but largely failing to be his decisive, in-control self. "It's very late, and I'm on duty in three hours. So I…should let you rest." And then he turned abruptly away from Sunfall, aiming for her door. This only seemed to galvanize Sunfall into action, though.

"Prowl, wait!" she called out, grabbing his arm to interrupt his departure. He turned back to her, a questioning expression on his face, and she added, "I…have something for you, too."

Opening the hand that wasn't still laying on his arm, she revealed the now crushed sprig of mistletoe that Jazz had given her earlier. Prowl stared down at it quizzically.

"Actually, it's more from Jazz," Sunfall was explaining. "He ordered me to put this to good use," she added, looking up at Prowl, her expression deadly serious, her gaze unwavering. "On you, specifically."

"Did he now?" Prowl responded in kind, sliding a speculative, narrow-eyed glance over at the deeply-somnolent saboteur sprawled in a most undignified fashion on Sunfall's floor.

"Mmm-hmm," Sunfall murmured. "And I wouldn't want to disobey him."

"Indeed not," Prowl agreed quietly, gravely, returning his thoughtful gaze to Sunfall. He bent down toward her again…and then stopped.

"What?" Sunfall asked him in confusion.

"Traditionally speaking, isn't that supposed to be hanging _above_ us for us to be doing this?" he asked, a distinct teasing lilt to his voice for all that he was completely straight-faced. "Wouldn't want to break the rules now, would we?" he added.

Sunfall looked down at the mangled greenery in her hand. Then she snorted and tossed it carelessly aside before reaching up to snake her arms around Prowl's neck.

"Details," she said huskily, pulling him insistently down. "Don't trouble me with details, Prowl," she murmured as their lips met.

Long, long moments later, the kiss ended, both of them a little breathless, both sets of eyes bright. The word "slow" had become a constant mantra in Sunfall's mind whenever she was around Prowl. Much as she wanted to ignore that voice right at that very moment, wilder impulses shooting into her processors notions of dragging Prowl off to her berth, she was determined not to rush things. Prowl was just as determined to honor her wishes. So, he straightened determinedly, reluctantly let go of Sunfall, and stepped back from her.

"Good night," he said quietly. "And Merry Christmas."

"You, too, Prowl," Sunfall answered, smiling softly at him.

They stared at each other for a few moments longer, a mutual desire not to part crackling almost tangibly between them, but then Prowl determinedly turned and headed for the door. There was definite reluctance in his stride, though, and Sunfall heaved a long, wavering sigh as the door slid shut behind him.

"Now _that_ was a kiss," a slightly-slurred voice suddenly announced, as if from nowhere, making Sunfall gasp and then jump rather impressively high. She turned in mid-air in order to land facing Chip, who was giving her a deeply amused and openly delighted look. "Wow," Chip added.

"God!" she responded. "Don't _do_ that to me, Chip!"

"Sorry," he murmured. "I woke up and…whoa. It was apparently show time. There was tongue involved, even, if I'm not mistaken," he added, tsking merrily.

If she could have, Sunfall would have blushed furiously.

"Chiiiiip!" she protested weakly, sounding an awful lot like Claire when she had been about…twelve.

"Sunfaaaaaal," Chip responded in kind, and then he chortled for some reason known only to him, probably having something to do with his rather advanced state of inebriation. "Oooh, guess I'm not driving home tonight, huh?" he announced once he stopped snickering at himself, his words still slurring.

"You most certainly are not," Sunfall answered. "No more tragic car accidents allowed in this family."

"Mmmm," Chip murmured in agreement. "Give me a lift to the couch there, will ya?"

Sunfall smirked, carefully scooping the human out of his wheelchair and then settling him on her far-too-large-for-him couch, which so far was the only furniture in her quarters other than her berth. Chip murmured a thank-you as she put him down.

"So!" he said cheerfully but drowsily as he settled himself on her couch. "Is this another show that I'm not a reliable witness to, given the copious amounts of fabulous merlot I drank this evening?"

Sunfall smirked.

"Well," she said, "even if _you_ aren't a reliable witness, _I'm_ completely sober this time."

"Mmm," Chip agreed as he shifted on the couch and finally managed to find a marginally comfortable position. Levering himself up on his elbows, he was able to reach across and grab his down jacket off the back of his wheelchair to use as a pillow. "And so was Prowl," he observed sleepily as he stuffed the jacket behind his head and then closed his eyes. He sighed contentedly and then yawned ferociously as he began to drift off again, thanks to all that fabulous merlot. "Well, s'bout time, I say," he muttered with another sigh, just before his breathing evened out and he promptly went back to sleep.

"Me, too, Chip," Sunfall murmured, smiling to herself. "Merry Christmas to me."

* * *

_**After note:**__ Hmmm… perhaps I should have put in a warning for the absolute horror that is A GIANT VIOLIN!! AAARRRRGH! (Says the cellist. ;) )_

_In any case, since this mentions pieces of music specifically, I haz linkz in case anyone's interested… _

_First, the 1__st__ movement of Mendelssohn's E-minor Violin Concerto:_

_www.__ liberliber .it/ audioteca /m /mendelssohn /concerto_per_violino_in_mi_minore_op64 /cg /mendelss_con_op64_cg_01_alleg .mp3_

_Copypasta, remove spaces, blah, blah. This was recorded in 1954, so the sound quality isn't the best, but…Hey, it's free and legal. On the plus side, the orchestra is the mighty and more-awesome-than-you New York Phil and the soloist is Jascha Heifetz. Heifetz totally pwned this piece. The whole thing's awesomeness on wheels, but for those who might only be interested in the bits mentioned in the story: The opening bravura is the initial 50 seconds or so, before the full orchestra takes over the theme, and the cadenza starts at 5:54._

_Second, Beethoven's 7__th__ Symphony (which is not only Sunfall's favorite but mine…naturally!) in its entirety in one file recorded at the 2008 Beethoven Fest in Bonn, Germany, Beethoven's birthplace:_

_dw-world-od. streamfarm. net/ Events/ podcasts / en/ 1531_podcast_beethovenfest/ Beethoven_symphonie7 _adur _op9 2-podcas t-1531-3634217 .mp3_

_I challenge you to _not_ be happy after listening just to the first movement of that thing. It ain't called Beethoven's "dance symphony" fer nothin'. But for the first movement's historically-long intro and the haunting second movement, it's a total whirling dervish, insanely fast. Makes it hellish but fun to play, I have to say…_


	3. Interlude: In Which Sunfall Strives

**Title:** Interlude: In Which Sunfall Strives to Be a Mary Sue**  
Rating:** K+**  
Warnings for:** Sunfall being a goofball. Mild cursing. Possible TMI. And this not being a story at all, which probably breaks rules but…meh. And not being short, either, though that's not entirely _my_ fault since the test itself is long…**  
Date:** 2.5 minutes ago.

* * *

Yeah, the ol' Mary Sue Litmus Test, Transformers flavor, originally created by MCat many moons ago. Of course, there's a Sunfallian twist here. The girl can't be normal if she tries. Then again, it's not like she tries to be normal. Anyway, this is for those of you who might be suspecting that Sunfall is, in fact, a Dreaded Mary Sue™…

**I. All About Sue**

**Is your character named after yourself or your screen name? (+1)**  
Sunfall: My name is _much_ better than her screen name.  
Nightwind: You do realize that I stole your name from a character in a _Star Trek_ novel from the 80s, yes?  
Sunfall: Which is precisely why it's better. You stole _your_ name from a horse...

**Is your character described as beautiful? (+1)**  
Nightwind: Well, she _is_ pretty. But it's not my fault! It's Sludge's fault. Damn artists…  
Sunfall: So what? _Points_!  
Nightwind: Sunfall, the object of this test is to _avoid_ getting points.  
Sunfall: *snorts disdainfully* Screw that! I totally wanna be the worst Mary Sue ever to curse Transformers fanficdom!  
Nightwind: Oh, marvelous…

**"Unusually" or "astonishingly" beautiful? (+2)**  
Nightwind: No.  
Sunfall: Can we ask Prowl for a second opinion?  
Nightwind: Absolutely not.

**The most beautiful Transformer who's ever lived? (+3)**  
Nightwind: Riiiiiight…

**Do the other characters feel intimidated or threatened by her beauty? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Sunstreaker's threatened by the fact that our names share an initial syllable! Does that count?  
Nightwind: No. And he's not "threatened." Just greatly insulted.

**Are her optics an unusual color? (+1)**  
Sunfall: *pouts* Plain old blue.

**Do they change color according to her mood? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Now that would be nifty! I'm gonna go have a talk with Wheeljack about it…  
Nightwind: Not until we finish the test.  
Sunfall: *sigh* Fine.

**Does she have long, flowing hair? (+2)****Do you describe it on the first page of the story? (+2)  
Do you describe it more than once? (+3)**  
Sunfall: *sigh* I _used_ to have long hair, but I kept it in a braid… And how do Transformers have hair, anyhow? This is an unfair set of questions. It's unattainable points.  
Nightwind: You…haven't looked at fanart on deviantArt, have you?  
Sunfall: No. Should I?  
Nightwind: Just…forget I said anything. Please.

**Is she a recolored and/or "feminized" version of a canon character? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Kinda makes you wonder what a "feminized" Prowl would look like, doesn't it? I mean, he's already all curvy and stuff…  
Nightwind: Maybe it makes _you_ wonder that…

**Is she a Seeker? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Good God, no! Me, fly? I get nosebleeds while climbing ladders. Well, I used to, anyway.

**Do you spend more than two consecutive paragraphs describing her physical appearance? (+1)  
Do you begin the story with her description? (+1)**  
Sunfall: You know, I don't think I've _ever_ had my physical appearance described at all. *glares at Nightwind*  
Nightwind: That's because I really haven't a clue what you look like, m'dear, other than your color scheme.

**Do you make it a point to mention that she's as tall, or taller, than the average male? (+1)**  
Sunfall: I'm short, actually. You ever seen a Mazda Miata? We're not exactly talking about a land yacht here, y'know…

**Does the story begin with something like, "Hi there! I'm (character name) and this is my story..." etc.? (+10)**  
Sunfall: If it did, I'd kill her. Even though that's a _lotta_ points…

**Does she have wings on her shoulders? (+1)  
Does she have wings on her butt? (-20 and you're excused from the rest of the test.)**  
Sunfall: No wings _anywhere_…but now I kinda want some on my butt.  
Nightwind: But then you'd lose 20 points.  
Sunfall: …OK, nevermind.

**Does she have more than one alt-mode? (+1)****  
More than two? (+2)  
More than three? (+3)**  
Sunfall: God, I can barely handle the one…

**Is her robot mode surprisingly lacking in the "kibble" that would logically be necessary to transform into all these things (because then she wouldn't be as purty)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I am one with my kibble, thank you. Om.

**Does she transform via "magic" or some advanced and/or alien technology? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I transform via Magic Pixie Dust! *tosses glitter*  
Nightwind: Stop watching _Revenge of the Fallen_, 'Fall.  
Sunfall: *grumbling* OK, OK...

**Is one of her alt-modes an animal with wings? (+1)  
An animal that doesn't typically have wings (like a cat)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: What _is_ this obsession with wings?  
Nightwind: You'd have to ask the fanfic writers, hon.  
Sunfall: Okay…So, fanfic writers! Tell me. What _is_ this obsession with wings? Seriously, I wanna know!

**Any fantasy-type creature (dragon, unicorn, griffin, etc.)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I don't get this one, either.

**Is one of her alt-modes organic or partly organic (if she's G1)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Half of my _brain_ is organic…sorta…That count?  
Nightwind: No.  
Sunfall: Bummer.

**Does her name contain one or more of the following:**

**Star/Sun/Sky? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Yes! I get a point.

**Fire/Flame? (+1)  
Night/Day/Dawn/Shadow? (+1)  
Black/Silver? (+1)  
Cat/Wolf/Raptor/Dragon? (+1)  
Dark/Blood/Death/Blade? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Why didn't you name me "Sunblood"? That would've been fun.  
Nightwind: Because that's a stupid, nonsensical name, maybe?  
Sunfall: What, and like "Blot" _isn't_ a stupid, nonsensical name?  
Nightwind: The property owner is allowed to be stupid and nonsensical, Sunfall.  
Sunfall: Well, that's…stupid.

**Any variation of Optimus, Ultra, Mega, Galva, etc. (Includes Prime and -tron suffixes)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: "Suntron?" "Megafall?" Nope, not doin' it for me…

**A deliberately misspelled word, like Fyre or Darke? (+2)  
An inexplicable capital letter in the middle of the name? (+2)  
Does she have a two-part name composed entirely of the previous, like "FyreBlade NightDragyn"? (+20, and come on.)**  
Sunfall: *giggles madly*

**Does her full name include a "the," followed by some supposedly cool-sounding descriptive, like, "DeathWolf the Soul-Flayer"? (+2)**  
Sunfall: *giggles even more madly* Yes! Sunfall the Horribly Inept!

**Is her name a completely made-up word like nothing any canon TF has ever had, just because you thought it sounded cool? (+3)**  
Sunfall: Really, my name is Hskfogidih! Seriously! Well, OK maybe not. Unfortunately, Nightwind's just not that creative.

**Is her name a painfully blatant feminization of a canon name, like "Starscreamia" or "Lady Optimus"? (+10)**  
Sunfall: Nor is Nightwind that _un_creative.

**Have you used the same name for a non-TF character in another universe? (+1)  
Two or more other universes? (+2)**  
Sunfall: God, I hope I don't exist anywhere else…

**Is it because she's actually the same character and has the ability to travel between dimensions and alter her appearance to suit each one, or some such? (+10, and sigh.)**  
Sunfall: Hey, that'd be a neat trick… Oh, Wheeljack!  
Nightwind: Get back here.

**Does she have any of the following abilities:**

**Telepathy? (+1)  
More powerful than Soundwave's? (+2)**  
Sunfall: A better question is: Why would anyone _want_ to be a telepath? Seriously.

**Teleportation? (+1)  
More powerful than Skywarp's? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Nah.

**Super-speed? (+1)  
Faster than Blurr's? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Only when high… No, I'm kidding.

**Unusually keen senses? (Sight, hearing, smell, etc.) (+1 for each.)**  
Sunfall: Other than perfect pitch? Nope.

**Telekenesis? (+2)**  
Sunfall: *spends an hour fruitlessly trying to bend a spoon with her mind* Apparently not. *tries bending her mind with the spoon instead*

**"Magical" powers, often vaguely defined or whatever the situation calls for (including magical healing of self or others)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I have a magical ability to attract enemy fire. Other than that…no.

**Time-travel under her own power? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Why would I want to?

**Control of the weather or other natural elements? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I'm not an X-man, 'K?

**The ability to communicate with animals? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I leave that to Beachcomber. Wacko tree-hugging hippie…

**Precognition or a "sixth sense" regarding imminent danger (including precognitive dreams or visions)? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Unfortunately, I don't have any clue about danger until…Well, see my answer about my "magical" abilities.

**Any ability which no canon TF has ever been shown to have? (+3)**  
Sunfall: Besides my "magical" ability? Oh, wait. Optimus Prime seems to have that one, too, so…Never mind.

**ALL of the above? (+100 points and kindly never write anything again.)**

**Is she:  
****A brilliant scientist and/or inventor? (+1)  
So brilliant that she effortlessly solves problems that Wheeljack, Ratchet, and/or Perceptor couldn't? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I leave that to my brother the ultra-brain…

**Is she a phenomenally skilled martial artist? (+1)  
In Metallikato? (+2)  
In some hitherto-unknown Cybertronian martial art that you just made up? (+3)  
Is she the only female ever to be trained in this art? (+1)**  
Sunfall: "Phenomenally skilled?" Nah. "Skilled enough?" After _lots_ of practice, yes. Does this mean I get points?  
Nightwind: I don't think so, no. Has to be "phenomenal" skills.  
Sunfall: Well, poo.

**Is she an incredible sharpshooter? (+1)  
At any distance? (+1)  
With any weapon? (+1)**  
Sunfall: I worked my _ass_ off for that rating, thankyouverymuch.  
Nightwind: And for all your hard work, you get a point.  
Sunfall: Really? Cool!

**If you've made Tech Specs for her:**

**Are they all sevens and/or eights? (+1)  
Nines and/or tens? (+2)  
Higher than tens? (+5)**  
Sunfall: Tech…specs…? The hell?  
Nightwind: Never mind…

**Does she have a beautiful singing voice? (+1)**  
Sunfall: I have perfect pitch courtesy of my squishy half, but I'm not really into singing. Except in the shower, like everyone else in the universe. Even Prowl. …He's gonna kill me for saying that…  
Nightwind: But you like to live dangerously and all.  
Sunfall: Well, not really. It's just that I've got that damned magical ability, you see…

**Does she play a musical instrument? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Yes! More points for meeeeee!  
Nightwind: o_O 'K Blitzwing…

**Is it the flute? (+20)**  
Sunfall: It is _far_ eviller than a flute.

**Is it the bagpipes? (-20)**  
Sunfall: But not that evil.  
Nightwind: Y'know, I'd debate that…  
Sunfall: Shut up, _cellist_.

**Is she extremely fond of a particular Earth musical group, TV show, movie, etc.? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Do long-dead composers count?  
Nightwind: I'm gonna say yes.  
Sunfall: Yes!  
Nightwind: On the other hand, you were human, so it'd make _sense_ for you to like Earth stuff like that.  
Sunfall: Too late! Already gave me the point! No takebacks!  
Nightwind: Whatever…

**That just happens to be YOUR favorite musical group, TV show, movie, etc.? (+2)**  
Sunfall: …?  
Nightwind: *sigh* Yes.  
Sunfall: *pumps fist* Yes!

**Is she so obsessed with a particular rock band that she named herself after it? (+10) ;)**  
Sunfall: Well, last I checked my name wasn't "Beethoven," so, no. :p  
Nightwind: Beethoven wasn't a "rock band," silly.  
Sunfall: Oh, what_ever_!

**------------------------------------------------------**

**II. We Are Family**

**Is your character the daughter of a canon character? (+1)  
Is it Starscream? (+1)  
Is it Megatron? (+2)  
Is it Optimus Prime? (+3)  
That your character does not originally know about? (+1)  
Because your character's mother hid her away to "protect" her from something? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Alas, no to all of the above.

**Is your character the sister of a canon character? (+1)  
Is it Optimus Prime? (+1)  
Is it Megatron? (+2)  
Is it Starscream? (+3)**  
Sunfall: But yes to this one! *dances* OK, so Chip's not a Transformer, but still…

**Does she have a twin of the same gender? (+1)  
Of the opposite gender? (+2)  
Do they communicate telepathically? (+3)**  
Sunfall: No. And what's with the obsession with telepathy, too, dear fanfic writers?

**Is she the product of a tragically doomed romance between an Autobot and a Decepticon? (+1)**  
Sunfall: That would be fun but…no.

**Was she adopted? (+1)  
Was she found in a basket on a doorstep in the driving rain, with a mysterious note pinned to her blankie? (Sorry.)**  
Sunfall: No and no. But I do like blankies!

**------------------------------------------------------**

**III. Origin of the Species**

**Was your character on board the Ark or the Nemesis? (+1)**  
Sunfall: I ain't that old!

**Is she part-alien or part- any other non-TF creature? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Sort of?  
Nightwind: I think it means non-human, dear.  
Sunfall: Drat.

**Is she a non-Cybertronian mechanoid who joined the TFs for whatever reason? (+1)  
Is she a human who was turned into a TF? (+2)**  
Sunfall: w00t! TWO POINTS!  
Nightwind: *sigh*

**No beating about the bush: is she you turned into a TF? (+3)**  
Sunfall: Well? Verdict, o creator of mine?  
Nightwind: *shuffles feet* Well, _sorta_… I mean, there're aspects that we share. And you're certainly wish fulfillment, so…Oh, hell, have the points.  
Sunfall: Sweeeeeet! :D THREE POINTS!

**Do you secretly believe that this is really going to happen some day? (+5)  
Seriously, though? (+10)**  
Nightwind: OK, I'm delusional, all right? I admit it. But I'm not _that_ delusional…

**Is she an alien (organic) who was turned into a TF? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Well, humans are alien to the Transformers…  
Nightwind: That's not what it means, 'Fall.  
Sunfall: *pouts*  
Nightwind: Hey, be happy I let you have the points for being me, all right?  
Sunfall: All right, all right… *pouts some more anyway*

**Is she a fantasy-type creature (elf, mermaid, dragon, unicorn, etc.) who was turned into a TF? (+2)  
Is she a canon character from a non-TF universe who was brought into this universe and turned into a TF? (+3)**  
Sunfall: That's just weird.

**For any of the above: does she become a TF:**

**Because she was badly injured by/because of a TF and this was the only way they could save her life? (+1)**  
Nightwind: Hmmmmm…  
Sunfall: *bounces* I say yes.  
Nightwind: Of _course_ you say yes! But you weren't hurt by or because of Prowl or any other Transformer. Prowl was just there.  
Sunfall: But…points…  
Nightwind: Fine, you want the point? Take it.  
Sunfall: Yes! All your points are belonging to me!

**Because she wanted to Join In the Fight Against Evil? (+1)  
Because Megatron (or Galvatron or whoever) had the idea to turn humans into Decepticons and use them against the Autobots? (+1)  
Because she was in love with a TF and this was the only way they could be together? (+2)  
Due to a Convenient Unexplained Phenomenon (a dimensional portal, an energy bolt from space, etc.)? (+2)  
For Mysterious Reasons of Her Own? (+2)  
Because she wanted revenge on an annoying ex-boyfriend? (-100 points and please send me the story.)**  
Sunfall: I kinda like the boyfriend idea…  
Nightwind: Sunfall, you never had a boyfriend when you were human.  
Sunfall: 'Cuz they didn't measure up. Like, literally.  
Nightwind: *exasperated sigh*

**Is she a member of a hitherto-unknown "third race" that fled Cybertron during the Great War? (+2)  
Is she royalty of any kind? (+2)  
That she does not originally know about? (+3)**  
Sunfall: "Princess Sunfall" kinda has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?  
Nightwind: Don't push your luck, not-princess.

**Is she a member of a non-allied mercenary group that Plays By Their Own Rules and Answers To No One? (+3)  
Is she the leader? (+1)  
Is this group made up of stunningly beautiful and incredibly dangerous femmebots? (+1)  
Are they Feared and Respected Throughout the Galaxy? (+1)  
Do they have their own spaceship? (+1)**  
Sunfall: No to all of these…but I _want_ my own spaceship.  
Nightwind: Sunfall, you won't fly, but you want a _spaceship_?  
Sunfall: Sure.  
Nightwind: Why?  
Sunfall: 'Cuz.  
Nightwind: You're whacked.  
Sunfall: Of course! I was hatched in _your_ brain, after all...

**Or did your character presumably come about in a perfectly ordinary way, because you don't feel her origins are worth going on about? (-30 and thank you, thank you, thank you.)**  
Sunfall: HAH! Ain't nothin' ordinary 'bout me! Other than being one big ordinary cliché, of course.  
Nightwind: Yay. :|

**------------------------------------------------------**

**IV. All You Need Is Love**

**Does your character fall in love with a canon character? (+1)  
Is it Optimus Prime? (+1)  
Is it Megatron? (+2)  
Is it Starscream? (+3)**  
Sunfall: Yay, more points! Hey, why couldn't you have me fall in love with Starscream instead of Prowl? Then I could have had _four_ points.  
Nightwind: Because even _I_ am not that unoriginal.

**Does she fall in love with someone from an opposing faction? (+1)  
From a different continuity? (i.e. an Autobot and a Maximal)? (+2)  
From an opposing faction AND a different continuity? (i.e. an Autobot and a Vehicon)? (+3)**  
Sunfall: *blinks* How do you fall in love with someone from a different universe thingy?  
Nightwind: Because if you were a _real_ Mary Sue, you'd have those awesome universe/dimension-crossing abilities, remember?  
Sunfall: Oh, right! Forgot about that…

**Did they fall in love within days of meeting each other? (+1)**  
Sunfall: I was seven, and human, when I met Prowl, fer cryin' out loud!

**Did they fall in love At First Sight or The Moment Their Eyes Met? (+2)**  
Sunfall: That would have been creepy, particularly on Prowl's part…  
Nightwind: Maybe he's a closet pedophile…  
Sunfall: Watch it, you.

**Do they defy anyone's direct orders to be together? (+1)  
Does one of them defect from their faction so they can be together? (+1)  
Do they BOTH defect from their factions so they can be together? (+2)**  
Sunfall: You and your not having me fall in love with Starscream thing! *mournful sigh*  
Nightwind: Poor Puff has enough on his plate, at the moment. He doesn't need kooky half-ex-humans plaguing him, too.

**Do canon characters fight (or otherwise compete) for her affections? (+1)**  
Sunfall: *imagines, then starts giggling madly again*

**Does she "reform" a thought-to-be-irredeemably-evil character through The Power of Her Love? (+100 and pass me the Pepto-Bismol.)**  
Sunfall: Hey, Starscream! Get your pretty flyboy butt over here! I need to start your reformation!  
Starscream: Leave me the hell out of this!  
Sunfall: Spoilsport...

**Does your character have sex with the object of her affections? (+1)  
More than once? (+2)**  
Sunfall: Y'know those are _mighty_ personal questions…  
Nightwind: And no, dear, you don't get those points…yet.  
Sunfall: *wibbles* But soon?  
Nightwind: Only if you're really, _really_ good. And maybe not even then.  
Sunfall: *pouts*

**That you describe in point-by-point detail? (+1)  
For more than two consecutive pages? (+3)  
Is it a life-altering experience for her? (+1)  
For him? (+1)  
Do one or both of them cry afterwards because it was so beautiful? (+1)  
Did you cry afterwards because it was so beautiful? (+2)**  
Sunfall: I'm crying just _thinking_ about how beautiful and life-altering it will be! Does that count?  
Nightwind: No.  
Sunfall: Rats.

**Do they get married? (+1)  
Do you describe the wedding ceremony? (+1)  
For more than two consecutive pages? (+2)  
Including giving the name of every single character who was invited? (+3)  
Is the wedding attended by members of opposing factions, because they decided to set aside their differences in order to share in the joy of this wondrous event? (+20)**  
Sunfall: Hey, make sure you invite Starscream to my wedding, 'Wind... I _want_ those 20 points in the future.  
Nightwind: Transformers don't get married, 'Fall. Plus, to get those points, Starscream would have to _attend _the wedding, not just be invited to it.  
Sunfall: *shrugs* Blackmail him, then. I know you've got dirt on him.  
Nightwind: *grins evilly* True…  
Starscream: What part of "Leave me the hell out of this" do you two not understand?

**Does this wedding ceremony bear an astonishing similarity to a late 20th/early 21st century American middle-class Christian wedding, complete with vows, veil, and bouquet, despite the fact that this is far from the only type of wedding ceremony that exists (or has ever existed) on Earth, so to expect giant robots from outer space to use this exact same ritual is PATENTLY ABSURD?!?!?! (Sorry.) (+50)**  
Sunfall: Oooooh, I have it all planned now! Tell me honestly, 'Wind: Does this gigantic poofy white dress make me look fat?  
Nightwind: *rolls eyes* Oh, God…

**Do they have a child together? (+1)  
More than one? (+2)  
More than two? (+3)  
More than three? (+4)  
Are any of them twins? (+5)  
With telepathic powers? (+6)**  
Sunfall: Do I get 1,000 points for having 100 kids? Oh, Prowl, dearest, darling-est love of my life…  
Nightwind: Stop that, you!

**------------------------------------------------------**

**V. It's a Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad World**

**Is your character an orphan? (+1)****Were her parents killed in an attack by the opposing faction? (+1)****In an attack by pirates, mercenaries, an alien invasion, or anything other than a canon TF faction? (+2)****Did this attack destroy her entire city or colony? (+2)****Her entire world? (+3)****As a result of this attack, was she Left Alone To Fend For Herself In a Cruel Uncaring Universe? (+1)****Was she Forced To Do Terrible Things To Survive? (+1)  
That she deeply regretted doing, because deep down inside she was still a good and kind individual? (+1)**

**At any point in your character's history:**

**Was she kidnapped? (+1)  
Was she sexually assaulted? (+2)  
By more than one individual? (+3)  
By a canon character? (+100 points and shame on you.)  
Was she forced into slavery? (+2)  
Was it sexual in nature? (+5)  
Was she captured by the opposing faction or other evil persons? (+1)  
Was she tortured? (+1)  
Was her mind forcibly read by a telepath or some kind of evil brain-scanning device? (+1)  
Was her mind altered in any way (false memories implanted, brainwashed into betraying her faction, etc.)? (+1)  
Did she swear revenge on a particular group or faction as a result of Her Tragic Experience (whatever it was)? (+1)  
Did she swear revenge on a particular individual? (+1)  
Did she change her name, upgrade her body configuration, or otherwise alter herself in any way because of it? (+2)**

**At any point in her history, does she change factions? (Going from Neutral to a named faction, or vice-versa, counts.) (+1)  
Does she change factions more than once? (+2)  
More than twice? (+3)  
Do the other characters get so sick of her faction-swapping that they finally just haul off and shoot her? (-50)**

**Is she insane, or suspected of being insane? (+1)  
Does she experience flashbacks or other mental lapses? (+1)  
Does she suffer from a pathological phobia of clowns? (-20)**

Sunfall: *sigh* You know, this whole section makes me very afraid of fanfic writers. Thank God I'm an OC that no one else will write about! And it makes me very sad, too. Mostly because none of it applies to me, which means I get no points! :(  
Nightwind: I dunno, 'Fall. I think the fact that you _want_ to be a Mary Sue might qualify you for certified insanity…  
Sunfall: *brightens* Really? Aw, but that's only one lousy stinking point… :p

**------------------------------------------------------**

**VI. Don't Fear the Reaper**

**Does your character die? (+1)**  
Sunfall: Yes! I did! BWAH!  
Nightwind: _Half_ of you did.  
Sunfall: Still counts!  
Nightwind: Fine, but you only get half a point.

**Does she sacrifice herself to save the object of her affections? (+2)  
To save her entire faction? (+3)  
To save Cybertron and/or Earth? (+4)  
To save the galaxy? (+5)  
To save the entire universe/multiverse/space-time continuum? (+10)  
Does she repair a time paradox by dying? (+2)  
Does she cause one? (+2)  
Is her death witnessed by five or more canon characters? (+1)  
Do any of them cry? (+1)  
Does anyone shout "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" at any point? (number of O's and exclamation points may vary.) (+2)**  
Sunfall: Prowl doesn't do that sort of thing. But if he did do that sort of thing, I bet he would have… So, points?  
Nightwind: I think you're stretching it just a _bit_ much, 'Fall.

**Does she make a speech before she dies? (+1)  
Is it more than two paragraphs long? (+2)  
More than two pages long? (+3)  
Does she sing "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" in a loud, bellowing voice? (-10)**  
Sunfall: I sing "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" in the shower. Does that count?  
Nightwind: It only counts if you did it while _dying_, 'Fall. And even if singing it in the shower _did_ count, you'd be getting points taken _away_.  
Sunfall: Oh! Forget I said anything then.

**Do you describe her funeral? (+1)  
Is it awfully similar to an Earth-type funeral? (See the question about weddings.) (+2)**  
Sunfall: You did! You _so_ did! And it was Earth-type, too!  
Nightwind: You were human then! Of _course_ you'd have an Earth-type funeral, dingbat!  
Sunfall: It's still points for me! BWAH!

**Do the attendees make moving speeches about how wonderful she was and what a difference she made in their lives? (+3)  
Are these speeches more than two paragraphs long? (+4)  
More than two pages long? (+5)  
Does anyone break down and cry in the middle of their speech? (+5)  
Did you cry while you were writing it? (+5)**  
Nightwind: I'm not that sappy.  
Sunfall: Prowl is, though.  
Nightwind: Surprisingly true…although he doesn't cry, of course.  
Sunfall: Only because he _can't_! Trust me, he was crying on the inside.  
Nightwind: Sorry, sport. Doesn't count.  
Sunfall: :(

**During the funeral, does she come lurching out of her coffin as a hideously decomposed cannibal zombie and massacre everybody in sight? (-20) (Well, I'd like to see that.)**  
Sunfall: Alas, the zombieness came later…  
Nightwind: You're not a zombie, 'Fall. Just a freak. And, again, you'd be getting points taken off.  
Sunfall: *shuts up*

**Did she leave a will or any kind of last message? (+1)  
Does it begin with an "If you're reading this/seeing this, it means I'm dead" sort of thing? (+1)  
Does everyone think she died, but she actually didn't? (+3)  
Does she actually die, but somehow come back to life at the end of the story? (+4)**  
Sunfall: Hmmmmmm…  
Nightwind: Sunfall…  
Sunfall: Think about it! Claire's family other than Chip thinks she's dead. And she did die but came back to life…sort of.  
Nightwind: Hmmm…How 'bout we compromise? I'll give you the 3 points for people thinking you're dead, but not the 4 points because you didn't come back to life as the climax of the story and all, which is what the question really means.  
Sunfall: *sigh* Fine. Guess I have to take what I can get…

**Will she come back to life in a subsequent story? (+3)  
In which you blatantly contradict and/or ignore the events of the current one? (+20)  
Does someone else sacrifice him- or herself to restore your character to life? (+2)  
Does the object of her affections bring her back to life solely through the Power of Their Love? (+50 and you're determined to kill me, aren't you?)**  
Sunfall: That was all Chip and Wheeljack's doing. Do they love me enough to count for those 50 points?  
Nightwind: Not by a long shot, dearest. Plus, there was technology involved, not Love Power. _Plus_, neither of them is the object of your affection. Especially not Chip because that would be creepy.  
Sunfall: Well, it was worth a try…

**Does she die and get resurrected more than once? (+2)  
More than twice? (+3)  
More than Optimus Prime? (Never mind, that's not possible.)**  
Sunfall: Once was enough, thank you.

**------------------------------------------------------**

**VII. And, In the End...**

**Have you written (or are you planning to write) more than one story centered around this character? (+1)  
More than two? (+2)  
More than three? (+3)**  
Sunfall: Wait, does that mean that I get 6 points because you've written more than three stories about me, or only 3 points?  
Nightwind: You only get 3 points.  
Sunfall: Boo.

**Do you ONLY write stories centered around this character? (+10)**  
Nightwind: *scowls* Lately it sure seems that way…but no, not really.  
Sunfall: Guess I'll just have to barge into your brain more often, then.  
Nightwind: Please don't.  
Sunfall: *snickers* MWAHAHAHAHAHAH! *coughing fit*

**Have you altered the canon in any way to favor her (i.e., changed the plot of an episode, re-written the Movie so a character doesn't die, etc.)? (+1)**  
Nightwind: '86 movie? What '86 movie?  
Sunfall: Yay, another point!

**Has she appeared in more than one continuity? (G1, BW, etc.) (+1)  
More than two? (+2)  
More than three? (+3)  
As soon as you hear of a new TF continuity coming out, do you immediately start thinking of how you can involve your character in it? (+5)**  
Sunfall: She only writes in one continuity, but if she ever decides to branch out and broaden her horizons, I'll be knocking on her neurons just to get these points…  
Nightwind: You know, this test has created a monster…

**Do you get cheesed off when readers don't adore and worship your character? (+3)  
Do you resent the suggestion that stories based around your fanchars are not as interesting to other people as they are to you? (+5)**  
Nightwind: Well, I don't think she's very interesting myself, sooo…  
Sunfall: You are _such_ a liar!  
Nightwind: Well, fine, but even if everyone hated you with a livid, undying passion, I wouldn't give a flip.  
Sunfall: *beaming* 'Cuz you'd love me anyway!  
Nightwind: *sigh*

**And finally, while taking this test, did you feel periodic stings of recognition, flashes of annoyance, a temptation to say, "So what's wrong with THAT?" or "You're making fun of ME, aren't you?!" etc. etc. etc.? (+1 for each time this happens.)**  
Nightwind: HAH! Are you kidding? When I've got her _gunning_ for Mary Sue status?

**------------------------------------------------------**

**Scoring:**

**A negative number: What are you still taking this test for? Go write!**

**0 to 15: Ehh, it's pretty hard to avoid everything on this list. Don't worry about it.**

**16 to 30: A few Mary Sue tendencies creeping in. Might want to re-think a few things so people don't start making fun of you.**

**31 to 45: Definite Sue-ishness. Do some honest self-criticism and see if you can't make the character more interesting.**

**46 to 60: Warning! Mary Sue in progress! Re-think this character immediately and don't write another fic about her till you do!**

**61 or higher: Please remain where you are. An actual competent writer will be along shortly to take away your computer and/or break your fingers. Thank you.**

Sunfall: *counts* So that's....25.5 points. Woooo! Once I have sex at least twice with Prowl, then marry him in a sugary white fairy-tale wedding complete with blubbering Decepticon guests in attendance, and _then_ have four sets of telepathic twin kids with him, I'll be _there_, baby! I'll be the WORST MARY SUE EVERRRRRRR! MWAHAHAHAHAH! *coughing fit*  
Nightwind: *smacks forehead* God help me. God help us all…  
Prowl: *blink, blink* _Four _sets of twins…? *passes out*  
Sunfall: Oops.

* * *

**After Note:** And now, the most important part of this "chapter!" To answer the question, seriously, of whether or not Sunfall is a Mary Sue: Sort of. She is really more of a general self-insert, which actually isn't entirely the same as a Mary Sue. Mary Sues are usually self-inserts, but they're a specific _kind_ of self-insert with specific qualities, and at the moment Sunfall isn't that specific. She does have some Mary Sue qualities, as the test above shows, and she will likely gain more such qualities as time goes on. But she's not quite there yet.

Here's the thing, though, for those of you who are reading these stories about her but who might not have clued in on this yet: I'm not _trying_ to avoid various romantic fanfic stereotypes/clichés with her at all. I'm actually actively _embracing_ them, _but_ I'm trying to do so in a well-written way that still keeps the character generally likeable and interesting and what-have-you (I say "generally" because you can never please absolutely _everyone_.) _and _that keeps the other characters in character as well. So, her entire storyline is an ongoing experiment, I guess you could say; I am trying to create a self-insert/Mary Sue that _doesn't_ make readers who generally like romance-y stuff want to take sharp objects to their eyeballs. Only time will tell whether I succeed or fail. You'll just have to tell me when/if she crosses any lines that you personally can't stomach, I guess. That's the only way I'm going to know if I'm succeeding or failing in my little experiment. So, don't be afraid to be honest about that; you're not gonna hurt my wittle feewings. Promise.


	4. Paths

**Title:** Paths**  
Rating:** K+**  
Warnings for:** A pissy, upset Prowl. And hey! At least this one is actually short. At least, short for something that _I_ wrote…**  
Date:** February, 2000

* * *

"You are _not_ going to turn her into an assassin, Jazz!" Prowl exclaimed firmly, glaring at Jazz in a more displeased way than he'd glared at Jazz in a long, long time. Jazz was surprised, though not intimidated, by the fact that genuine anger tinged Prowl's expression. Jazz absently reflected that almost a year of exposure to Sunfall had had some…interesting side effects on Prowl, and then he returned his attention to the discussion at hand.

"Nope, I'm not gonna turn her into an assassin," Jazz agreed quietly enough, not at all impressed with Prowl's displeasure but also not wanting to encourage further anger. A truly angry Prowl was a _scary_ Prowl. He folded his arms over his chest, glared back at Prowl, and calmly announced. "I'm going to turn her into an infiltrator."

Prowl clenched his jaw at that, his glare deepening.

"Don't play with words, Jazz," he growled, his voice quiet but his glare steely. He leveled an accusing finger at Jazz and added, "They're often one and the same, and you know it. And…It's too dangerous. She's _far_ too young."

Jazz snorted at that.

"Did you even _look_ at this, Prowl?" he asked, leaning demandingly across Prowl's desk and picking up and then waving the datapad containing a copy of his evaluation of and recommendations regarding Sunfall at the tactician. "She's got the chops, man, even if she is, in a way, less than a year old. More than that, she _wants_ to do this. She's tired of sitting on her aft, and quite frankly her sitting on her aft is a waste of resources and talent. Plus?" he added significantly. "I don't need your permission. At all."

"Then why tell me in the first place?" Prowl demanded, his voice an angry snarl the likes of which Jazz had never heard from him. This, though, didn't deter him, either.

"Courtesy!" he spat back at Prowl, just as ferociously. "Silly me figured that _maybe_ you'd want to hear it straight from _me_ instead of suddenly seeing her name on an assignment roster somewhere! 'Specially because Optimus thinks this," he added, waving the datapad again, "is a _dandy_ idea."

Prowl snorted at that and sat back angrily in his chair, his arms folded over his chest and his door panels flaring in agitation as he glared for long moments at the saboteur. But then, suddenly deflating, he folded his forearms on his desktop and sank forward until his forehead was resting on top of them. Jazz regarded him sympathetically. He was irritated with Prowl, sure…but he also knew exactly what was driving him here, so he had a certain level of understanding.

"I…know you care about her, Prowl," Jazz said without heat. "I guess I just didn't realize quite how much until right now. But I thought…I dunno, I thought maybe you'd be proud of her."

"I _am_ proud of her, Jazz," Prowl insisted, although his voice was muffled due to his slumped position. "It's just…just…"

Jazz regarded Prowl speculatively and almost sympathetically for a moment longer and then quietly said, "She wants to be useful, Prowl, to have a purpose. And quite frankly _I_ need her, and _she_ needs to have a life. She'll go crazy without one. "

"I know that," Prowl answered mournfully. He sat up straight in his chair then and regarded Jazz wearily. "But why did she have to choose _your_ life?" he added plaintively.

Jazz chuckled ruefully at that, but his amusement was short-lived.

"Because she can do it," he answered Prowl in all seriousness. "And not many people can. But Sunfall, she's got it all, man." He paused to consult the datapad still in his hand for a moment, ticking off her qualifications. "Rated as a sharpshooter last month, thanks in no small part to _your_ hard work. Sideswipe says she kicks aft hand to hand in close quarters even against larger and stronger opponents. Her psych profile…Well, I guess it's no surprise, really, but the girl can compartmentalize like _nobody's _business. And, to top it all off, she's small, fast, and maneuverable. Overall, she's…perfect for the job," he finished with a shrug.

"Because she went ahead and _made_ herself perfect for the job," Prowl asserted wearily.

"Maybe," Jazz answered, nodding contemplatively.

But Prowl knew there was no "maybe" about it. If nothing else, one of Sunfall's overriding qualities was that she was persistent and determined when she was motivated to be that way. And she had most certainly been motivated to find a place to belong within the Autobot ranks. Once she decided to sink her teeth into learning something, she didn't quit until she'd perfected whatever it was, be it playing the violin…or learning hand-to-hand combat.

Prowl had surreptitiously watched her in the training room just the other day. She'd been sparring with Sideswipe, who'd been instructing her in hand-to-hand, at Sunfall's request, for a while now. Prowl had never thought that Sideswipe would have the patience to teach anyone anything, but he apparently did have such patience, and Prowl had been utterly amazed at how far Sunfall had come under Sideswipe's tutelage in just a few months. His amazement was matched, in fact, only by his level of dismay.

Because Jazz had been watching her very closely that day, too, and his expression as he'd followed her graceful yet potentially lethal movements had been almost avaricious. Since Mirage was on long-term assignment on Cybertron at Elita-One's request, Jazz was missing a team member here on Earth, possibly for good if both Elita and Mirage had their way. So Jazz was currently missing an infiltrator, specifically, and Prowl wasn't entirely surprised that Jazz wanted Sunfall to fill in that gap now. All that she would need would be some specialized training, which Jazz would be all too happy to provide and which Sunfall would assimilate and perfect all too quickly. This, Prowl knew as well.

And that was what worried him. He'd hoped that Sunfall would remain content to sit out the war, to stay relatively safe, to remain more or less under his protection. He should have known better. She wanted to contribute, had wanted to do so since shortly after her birth, almost a year before. A sense of obligation had driven her at first, and now, as Jazz had pointed out, boredom and frustration with a lack of purpose had made her even more determined to find a place, to have a job to perform, a purpose to fulfill.

And now, she'd found one.

Prowl had indeed read Jazz's evaluation of her, and he knew that Jazz was right about her. He also knew that Sunfall would handle herself capably, even that she would likely excel in the career path she'd chosen. Still, the path she had chosen was fraught with danger, more danger in many different ways than mere front-line combat. Espionage and special operations often meant flying solo. In straight-on combat, there were usually others – sometimes many others – to watch one's back; an infiltrator, on the other hand, almost always worked alone, often behind enemy lines, and therefore had little-to-no margin for error. Jazz himself was supremely capable at his job and even he had been caught from time to time over the years. Captured. Interrogated. He'd been horribly tortured more than a few times, giving him a darker side that only a select few – Prowl included – ever saw, careful as Jazz was to maintain his upbeat and carefree persona around everyone else. The thought of those same things happening to Sunfall sent shivers of deep dread racing through Prowl's frame, and it was fueling his protective anger now.

Still, anger or no anger, Jazz was right, and Prowl knew it. Sunfall needed to have a life, and if this was the path that she had chosen for herself, then who was he to gainsay her? Who was he to dissuade Jazz from recruiting her or to convince Sunfall not to accept Jazz's offer? He had no claim over her and no right whatsoever to dictate to her. He cared for Sunfall very deeply. Indeed he was, he had only recently admitted to himself, in love with her…but at the moment that was as far as it went. He most certainly did not own her. He hadn't even _told_ her that he loved her, even. At least, not in so many words.

Now it crossed his mind that, since things were apparently moving ahead out of his control, perhaps he _should_ tell her, while she was still relatively safe, just in case…

Prowl sat up straighter in his chair then, with a little sigh of defeat. He regarded Jazz steadily, folding his hands on his desktop, his expression deadly serious.

"Teach her well, Jazz," he said quietly but imploringly. "For Primus's sake, teach her well."

Jazz smiled grimly.

"Don't you worry, Prowl," he said. "I intend to."

* * *

_Figured I should give you a "real" story, too, along with the goofy Mary Sue test. This is all I've got for this for the moment, though, so it'll likely be a while for an update. Unless, of course, Sunfall gets uppity..._


End file.
